United States v. Martinovich, No. 13-4828 (4th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his conviction and sentence for one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, four counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, and seven counts of money-laundering. The court affirmed the convictions. However, the court concluded that the district court’s treatment of the Guidelines as mandatory is a significant procedural error. Because the error was not harmless, the court vacated the sentence as procedurally unreasonable and remanded with instructions. Further, when a district court can still conclude that the Guidelines are “no longer advisory,” in the face of such straightforward dictates and the parties’ unanimous objection to its misstatement of law, remanding the case to that court with this court's reminder of the correct law would most likely be “an exercise in futility." Accordingly, the court remanded for resentencing with a different judge.
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